This is the first exercise of the Photo Tutorial 101 Take control of your camera series. If you have been following the series so far, you should now be able to put a lens on your camera, use autofocus, and take photos in automatic mode. This is what this exercise is about, so go out there, take some photos, and look at your results.

In the next few videos, we will see different methods of improving upon this initial set of photos.

In this episode, I show how to take a photo in full automatic mode. A lot of pros would say that only Manual / Av / Tv modes should be used, and they would be partly right, but everyone has to start somewhere, and I believe full auto mode is the best place to start to get acquainted with a DSLR camera.

In future videos I will show how to go beyond auto, but full automatic mode is definitely a good place to begin until someone is ready for the next steps.

In this video, I show how to attach a camera to a tripod. This works with most DSLR, point&shoot and even most video cameras which have a tripod mount. The 1/4″-20 thread is the current standard for most equipment, though for some heavier equipment (weighting 50lbs and costing more than a sports car) they sometimes use a larger standard.

In this episode, I show how to clean a camera lens. While most camera shops offer lens cleaning services, you may want to clean your own lenses. I show the safest way I know how, and the way I personally do it, but this is a “do it at your own risk” tutorial.

In this video, I show how to change a camera lens on a DSLR, mirrorless, or other interchangeable lens camera. Each brand can be a little different, some you turn clockwise, others counter-clockwise, but the general idea is the same for all cameras.